Sony has released three new handhelds today at the PalmSource developer conference. The new TH55 features built in wifi, camera and a 320x480 screen in a slim form factor. Sony has also cranked out two others, the TJ27 a entry level model with a built in camera and the similar TJ37 which adds integrated wifi.

Finally

A PalmOS handheld that offers built-in Wifi, and high resolution color for under $300!Looks like Sony may finally be listening to customers...As for me I'm still going to wait for 320x480, WiFi, and decent buttons.

Sony's New(?) Stylus

Previously, I had negative opinions about the CLIE's old stylus design (among other things) which was/is uncomfortable even with small hands, such as mine and horribly loose after a month or so of regular use. I've recommended CLIEs in the past to 3 people and they've ALL come back to me with the exact same problems: stylus falling out and battery life. And, I'm sorry, but applying a layer of tape on the end is not a solution.

However, after this announcement of new models, I decided to pay a visit to the Sony Style site and also stumbled upon their new retractable stylus:

Has anyone had any experience with their new one? How does it compare with the Palm Tungsten stylus (which, in my opinion, has been the most comfortable and cleverly designed to date)?

I'm not sure how long they've been offering this new design, but if it is comparable to the Palm T|T stylus, I may once again recommend CLIEs again in good conscience; especially with news of improved battery life.

RE: Sony's New(?) Stylus

RE: Sony's New(?) Stylus

It sucks. I have a NX80 (my main unit) and Tungsten T. The Clie stylus is useable, but pathetic. The Tungsten stylus is wonderful. After awhile the Clie stylus gets "gummed up" (mine did anyway) and stops extending when you pull it out of the silo - I have to do it manually now. I love the Clie, but hate the stylus.

RE: Great software deal-DTG

Add up all the apps you get with the new CLIEs. The only thing missing for the average user will be a financial software program + a decent mail program. Third party developers are about to get screwed in a major way. Gotta feel sorry for WordSmith, Quickoffice, MiniCalc etc.

RE: Great software deal-DTG

Not all of us love or use DTG. I personally detest it - free or not - and will continue to use Wordsmith and Quicksheet.

How many people like you will buy WordSmith etc. when Documents To Go is free? Probably around 16. If you're a core app software developer and don't get your app buldled with Palm or Sony, you're toast.

No Bluetooth on TH-55 = Sony messing up yet another CLIE...

The TH-55 would have been almost perfect at $400 if it had Bluetooth and landscape mode. This forces everyone wanting a well built PalmOS PDA (don't talk to me about Palm's self-destructing T3), Bluetooth and 320 x 480 to pay through the nose for the new UX. Then again, the UX's screen makes it all worthwhile.

It's just too big.

RE: No Bluetooth on TH-55 = Sony messing up yet another CLIE...

Link to spy photo of the new CLIE to be posted here tomorrow. (If PIC dares to face the wrath of mighty Sony.) It's low res (taken with a cameraphone) but shows what you need to see. I'll check if anyone can run into NDA problems over this tomorrow since this unit is traceable.

RE: No Bluetooth on TH-55 = Sony messing up yet another CLIE...

RE: No Bluetooth on TH-55 = Sony messing up yet another CLIE...

I find it sickening how Sony feels Europe "deserves" BT while the US doesn't....of course, this is fed by the fact that GSM is the de facto mobile standard over there whereas it's a hodgepodge of CDMA, TDMA, & GSM.

That said, with Ericsson phones dwindling greatly in popularity amongst the domestic US carriers, the move doesn't surprise me all that much. Also, continued moves like this will put the nail in BT's coffin (at least in the US) because arrogant, sluggish companies like Verizon will see no compelling reason to offer BT-enabled phones. A true catch-22 if there ever was one in this business.

That said, PalmOne could make a grand statement by at least offering OS5 drivers for their BT card so a Sprint Treo 600 owner could really impress everyone--BT functionality (albeit from a card) & full smartphone capabilities as well. That way, T3 owning folks could leech connectivity off of their Treo 600 ownning pals!

RE: No Bluetooth on TH-55 = Sony messing up yet another CLIE...

Guess again. Who would buy a $550 UX when you can get a TH-55 with 802.11b AND Bluetooth for $350?

The UX is actually selling well in the US (especially in Silly Valley) despite the fact that it costs more than a decent Windows desktop. Europeans use Bluetooth. Americans ignore it. Sony isn't dumb enough to parasitize their own boutique PDAs by selling a cheap, perfect PDA.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft:

Sony deserves credit for FINALLY developing a handheld in 240x320 with a standard tablet, but that's hardly innovative. There are a lot of things to like about this unit (no slider, clear flip-cover, battery life, etc.), but there are also plenty of things to dislike (stylus, Memory Stick format, no Bluetooth, no native Landscape, etc.).

Your cheerleading is reminiscent of a far-different time, when Palm would introduce a lame upgrade and Sony would follow-up with 3 units that were all much better. Let's wait until March and see what Palm releases. Or perhaps let's wait a little longer and see what PPC 2004 offers--that's why PPCs are "silent," for now, developing devices off the new OS.

And really, pom-poms just look goofy, anyway.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft:

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft:

Whats the freaking big deal about these unit6? Why all of the clueless fanboys? I've got news for you: the new Dell Axim X3i is 400Mhz/64mb ram/full VG/ w/built in wifi - all for $300. Better stats than the Clie in every way (except actual screen resolution) for $100 less! No im not a PPC troll - i love Palm OS but wish Sony would actually produce an exciting unit at a good price - but apparently they dont have to to get un-discerning fanboys excited enough to buy their drek. Did i mention that this has the worst buttons/controls of any PDA every produced (even worse than any other Sony unit?).

Say you like it - fine. But acting like this overpriced but underpowered (123mhz) device is some sort of second-coming - its just embarassing to read.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft:

;-), slither back to ClieSource, where mindless fanboys are always welcome. This isn't a "Sonly Savior" of a PDA. Not hardly.

The T3 hasn't self-destructed since the update, which now ships in ROM. Discounting it out of hand (did you ever own, use, or even hold one?) only displays a lack of reason and plenty of ignorance/arrogance. No, it's not perfect either, but it's a tablet hi-res+ PalmOS PDA, and out LONG before Sonly could seem to manage it. If you want to talk about a PDA that sucks (oh, wait, you did) the UX is it. The screen makes it worth it? Hah! How can a 2" screen be worth it? Hell, the Fossil watch would have had a larger screen had it come to market.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft: "We will kick your a$$es!"

Whats the freaking big deal about these unit6? Why all of the clueless fanboys? I've got news for you: the new Dell Axim X3i is 400Mhz/64mb ram/full VG/ w/built in wifi - all for $300. Better stats than the Clie in every way (except actual screen resolution) for $100 less! No im not a PPC troll - i love Palm OS but wish Sony would actually produce an exciting unit at a good price - but apparently they dont have to to get un-discerning fanboys excited enough to buy their drek. Did i mention that this has the worst buttons/controls of any PDA every produced (even worse than any other Sony unit?).

Say you like it - fine. But acting like this overpriced but underpowered (123mhz) device is some sort of second-coming - its just embarassing to read.

It's not the fanboys that are in need of clues. Your post shows your ignorance of both PPC, PalmOS, Sony and the HHE.

Anyone that knows PDAs realizes it's poinless comparing CPU speeds and RAM amounts between PPC and PalmOS models. The HHE throws another wrinkle into the equation. And have you (a) actually USED the buttons on the TH-55? Or are you (b) just another hot air "expert" babbling based on screenshots they've seen on fanboy websites like this.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft: "We will kick your a$$es!"

Sony deserves credit for FINALLY developing a handheld in 240x320 with a standard tablet, but that's hardly innovative. There are a lot of things to like about this unit (no slider, clear flip-cover, battery life, etc.), but there are also plenty of things to dislike (stylus, Memory Stick format, no Bluetooth, no native Landscape, etc.).

Your cheerleading is reminiscent of a far-different time, when Palm would introduce a lame upgrade and Sony would follow-up with 3 units that were all much better. Let's wait until March and see what Palm releases. Or perhaps let's wait a little longer and see what PPC 2004 offers--that's why PPCs are "silent," for now, developing devices off the new OS.

2) Memory Stick works about as good as any other memory format. (Better than some, worse than others.) Price is its only real downside.

3) Bluetooth is available in Euro TH-55. In North America, most people don't know or care about Bluetooth.

4) Landscape can be coded for individual apps. The main place where it would be useful is in the web browser and the new NetFront engine compensates for portrait mode.

5) "let's wait a little longer and see what PPC 2004 offers". What a sad refrain you PPC trolls keep singing. It's been heard every time a new piece of WinCE/PPC bloatware has been issued from Redmond over the past 5 years. Put up or shut up. What's that? I can't hear you.

6) Pom poms don't look as goofy as your OS crashing and burning 10 times a day like PPC seems to do.

7) We already know what Palm will be releasing this spring. Microwaved leftovers.

You just got B-slapped

It's just too big.

RE: Sony to Palm and Microsoft:

Since the Dell Axim has been mentioned, let me bring an example from another environment that may be helpful in this discussion: Dell's iPod wannabe costs US$50 and US$100 less than apple's 15 and 20Gb models and includes some additional features that iPod's don't have. Based on the above comments cheaper and more features are better? hell no! why? because it's the only player that falls silent during fast forward or rewind, you can't make it play your entire music collection, and although it has a microphone there is no way to copy your recordings back to your PC. I am taking this information from an article by David Pogue at the New York Times technology section.If the axim has similar hardware glitches to be added to PPC alarm random on/off feature (a cool way to say that your alarms will not sound most of the time) then I'll say that expensive and reliable is better!

__________________________________________________Current fan of a 320x480 tablet shaped PDA with built in BT+Wifi for less than US$500

TH55 in Europe?

Damn I have been waiting so long for some one to release the WiFi SD card for my M505 that I think I am going to have to change my beloved 505 for something that works in conjunction with the rest of my network.

Does anyone have any ideas as to release dates for any of these within Europe? or even prices would be good.

TIA,

Mike

RE: TH55 in Europe?

Hi, as a French, I know that the TH55 will be in Europe the 15 of March, with BT AND Wifi.A french website has already done a complete review of the hardware, and will post the software review soon this week. So if you read French... It's on www.clieandco.com

Remote Desktop Reality

Finally I have a palm that can do remote desktop w/ my XP machine w/ a reasonable sized screen. I had orignally hoped the Tungsten T3 was the answer but w/ the SD Wi-Fi dead, finally my patience is rewarded

RE: Remote Desktop Reality

I dont see how wifi is that important for remote desktop access. I use bluetooth to great effect in accessing files on my desktop, though it was incredibily difficult to set up and involves lots of streaming programs over my bluetooth network. I actually had to upgrade to Windows XP Pro to get things working decently with my TT3.

Out of curiousity, what remote desktop program are you trying to use? Most of the things I'm using were custom Ad-hoc jobs and not nearly as stable as I would like them to be.

A little off topic, but WOW. Those Clies are nice. In the span of three years, I've gone from a Sharp Wizard Organizer (The 1.5 Mem model!) to a Viso Pro, to a CLie SJ30, to a TT3. I have to say that the TH55 has everything I've ever wanted in a PDA. Wifi. Camera. HiRez+. Native File support. More importantly, something I was really impressed with on an earlier discription of the new Clies was that they included out of the box softwar to unzip files directly from an internet connection. All of this in one word. Sweet.

Btw, to those of you complaining about a lack of Bluetooth, I was under the impression that while the PalmOne SD Bluetooth card is not compatible with OS 5, the Sony Memory Stick bluetooth card would work with OS 5 CLies.

Bluetooth + the TH-55

Btw, to those of you complaining about a lack of Bluetooth, I was under the impression that while the PalmOne SD Bluetooth card is not compatible with OS 5, the Sony Memory Stick bluetooth card would work with OS 5 CLies.

And with a single Memory Stick slot, where do you store the info/files you need when using the Bluetooth card - assuming it has the necessary drivers? Hmmmmmm....? There's NO excuse for a high end PDA to not have Bluetooth. None. Other than to purposely cripple a PDA + drive sales of a more expensive model.

RE: TH55 already $319 at Bestbuy

Whoa! $319. Thats a heck of a deal. Especially considering the Zire71 is retailng for $250. So for $70 more you're getting 16megs of more memory, and WiFi, plus the increased screen size. Still, I'd never consider replacing my TT3 for this. 32 megs may be great for an entry-level Palm, or for those meant for entertainment, (i.e. Zire71), but I like my 64mb. WiFi is nice, but I prefer Bluetooth, can't stand memory stick, and I don't like the un-detachable screen cover. But worst of all is the processor. I feel pretty comfy running at 400mHz. I get about 4 hrs of battery on my TT3, so you know what I do- charge it! I plug it in for about an hour or so each night while I browse the net, such as right now. However, I will say this is an extremely sleek unit. I really like the looks of it, although this unit also goes to show that Sony must not think people play games on their handhelds. With the jog dial being in back. Plus, I've seen some screen comparisons, I think on that French website, it doesn't seem all to impressive. I'll give it a run through at a store demo when available of course. And for $319, it sure sounds good.

Best Buy will no longer sell PDAs?

I was at two different Best Buys last week and they only had a couple of random PDAs on display. When asked about the limited inventory, the person behind the counter said they were no longer selling them. Is this old news?

Thanks for the TH55, PalmSource!

Now that the PalmSource announcements are over and Cobalt appears less than it should be -- just like the Wizard of Oz -- there is *no* barrier between me and the TH55 (well, aside from that damned one: $). I see nothing in Cobalt that would make me wait for it. Or even *want* it.

In fact, it's ironic that when *Sony* gets its hands on Cobalt, it will make it *better* than PalmSouce -- it'll have a sort of file system (CLIE Files) and maybe Sony will even go so far as to do landscape. (Well, maybe I'm getting carried away on that last point...)

RE: PDA France TH55 Part Two

CLIE Viewer is now FAST! Looks like no extra expense for Acid Image for TH55 owners!

babelfished:

"The mitre Viewer (idem Clié Viewer) Only one word: Rapid it is! Clié Viwer - unfortunately - had accustomed us to a slowness which was often réhdibitoire, this time the developers of Sony seems to have rewritten this practice application for much much more swiftness. One atteind not yet scores of certain applications specialized in the cataloguing of images. But force is to note that new Viewer (as independent Clié Viewer) is from now on absolutely and perfectly exploitable. As one can see it in the screen printing opposite, it allows the cataloguing of the vidéos, the images, the sounds and the handwritten notes FreeNotes. As much it visualizes to him even the photographs, it calls upon other applications for the other types of contents: Voice To retie to listen to the vocal memos, Movie Player for the vidéos and FreeNotes... for FreeNotes."

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